To one's self true
by Hellstorm80
Summary: One can only deny what they feel for so long. Even someone trained to repress their emotions... Rating may change. OC but not a SI. Psudo/not a crossover. Set a little over one month after the events in Trouble in Tokyo.
1. Prologue: Into the light

Standard disclaimers apply, no money changes hands, nuff said.

To one's self true.

Prologue:

Into the light.

Raven wasn't happy.

It's not that Raven was normally a happy girl, quite the contrary in fact. It's more that at the moment, Raven had something to be unhappy about. She had been woken up by the Titan alarm shortly after dawn; Dr. Light was attacking the city again. It was now almost Noon and they were still fighting him.

Raven spared a glace over to Beast Boy where he was standing over a fallen Cyborg. She quickly regretted taking her eyes off Dr. Light as another blast impacted her shield, nearly pushing it past her limit.

Raven fell.

Landing hard on her back, Raven looked at the sky. The midday sun nearly blinding her to the sight of Starfire throwing starbolts as fast as she could. She hadn't thought it necessary at the time, but now Raven found herself hoping someone heard the general distress call Robin sent out a few minutes ago. They were losing; one look at the block and a half the fight had covered would show that. Raven surveyed the damage as she sat up and got her bearings. There, the molten crater that formed when Dr. Light had tapped out Cyborg's battery was starting to cool finally. And there, the several storefronts that had been destroyed by Beast Boy getting flung off by that strange field Dr. Light's suit was emitting.

And there was Dr. Light, blasting several projectiles that Robin had thrown out of the air.

Raven stood.

Shaking her head slightly, she searched the area for something, anything that could help the situation. Dr. Light had taken to blasting anything she threw at him before it reached him, and that was getting tiring. Having seen her rise, Dr. Light once again turned his attentions to Raven.

"No more darkness little girl, Come into the light!" Dr. Light brought both of his hands to bear on Raven as her head snapped back around just in time to see the blast get fired.

Raven froze.

Time seemed to slow for her as she weighed her options. It was too late to dodge; she'd never make it out of the way in time. She could raise her shield, but with the strain she had already put on her powers it wouldn't be enough. Starfire was facing the wrong way; she'd never be able to get her out of the way in time. This was it, she was done for. Summoning the last of her energy she started to erect a shield in front of her, only to discover she was no longer in harms way.

"Sorry I took so long, I stopped to let Jynx know on the way." Kid Flash stood next to Raven, straitening his outfit. "Looks like I made it in time though."

"Yeah, thanks." Raven said flatly.

"Didn't we kick his ass once already?" Kid Flash gestures at Dr. Light with his thumb.

"Yes, but..." Raven starts.

"Right, on it." Kid Flash blurs towards Dr. Light before Raven can finish.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Raven yells after him, too late.

The red and orange blur that was Kid Flash flew back past Raven and punched through one of the building's facades a moment later.

"Ugh, that smarts..." can be heard from the hole.

"Fool! No one is faster than Light!"

The distraction proved enough though, as one of Robin's freeze disks made contact and froze Dr. Light solid.

"Gott'm" A very battered Robin states, as he rests his hands on his knees and breathes heavily.

"Yes, we did very much with the getting of him." Starfire says as she lands next to Robin.

"Hey, uh, Cy's still not moving and..." Beast Boy starts, he then points towards Dr. Light. "... uh guys, we aren't done yet."

Everyone turns to look at Dr. Light moments before the ice encasing him finishes melting. A brilliant yellow light envelops Dr. Light as the last of the ice vanishes.

"I got him." Kid Flash states as he finishes pulling himself out of the debris. Suddenly a red and orange blur is encircling Dr. Light. With a roar the energy surrounding Dr. Light expands outward, throwing Kid Flash back through the same facade as before. This time however the facade crumbles, burying him.

Just then the unmistakable sound of a gunshot rings out. Dr. Light staggers and falls over, the crystal in the center of his chest bursting.

Raven turned.

As did the rest of the young heroes who were able. On a nearby roof a dark, hooded figure can be seen holding a rifle. The figure, seeing that its presence was noticed turns and disappeared past the edge of the roof.

"Beast Boy, Starfire, check on Flash and Light. Raven with me." Robin orders, then fires his grappling hook to the roof, taking to the air.

Raven followed.

Cresting the roof, the pair arrive just in time to catch the movement of someone heading down the fire escape on the far side of the building. Chasing after, Robin flips over the railing to land next to the hooded figure as Raven floats down and hovers in mid air.

"Stop, who are you?" Robin asks as he lands behind the figure. The figure turns, allowing a better look. The figure stands slightly taller than Robin, in a full length black trenchcoat, and a dark red and black hooded mantle. The most noticeable feature however was the mask, a full face mask with dark glass inset into the visor, preventing any kind of identification. The rifle was slung over the figure's shoulder.

"No one you need concern yourself with, I don't want to fight you." came the obviously digitally altered reply.

"You could have killed him back there shooting him like that." Robin continues, a slight amount of anger seeping into his voice.

"Didn't I? Too bad, now he'll just be a problem again later."

"What!?" Robin took half a step back at this.

"I was aiming for his heart, that suit must have saved his life."

"You were TRYING to kill him?!" Robin puts his guard back up and advances on the figure. The figure raises gloved hands and puts the palms towards Robin as it takes a step back.

"Whoa, I said I don't want to fight you."

"Why? Why were you trying to kill him?"

"Dead Villains don't hurt people anymore." the figure replied matter of factly. "Look, I got to go, no need to thank me for pulling your asses out of it back there." The figure turns to leave but Robin lays a hand on his shoulder.

"You're not going anywhere till I get some more answers."

The figure turns to face Robin once more. "Just because I don't want to fight you doesn't mean I won't." Silence reigns for a few moments as the weight of these words sink in. "Fine, one more question, then I'm leaving. One way or another."

"Who are you?"

"You can call me, Enforcer."

Author's notes:

So here's the prologue, so far it's the shortest chapter I've written. While this story isn't a crossover I am going to be using places/ideas/occurrences from other sources, but no characters. Please review, it helps motivate me to keep writing…


	2. Chapter 1: Crime and punishment

Standard disclaimer: Not mine, unless it is. No money, got it?

To one's self true

Chapter 1:

Crime and punishment

Robin watches from the fire escape as Enforcer runs down the street below, having flipped over the railing a moment after giving them his name. Robin begins to move to give chase but is brought up short by Raven.

"We need to help Cyborg and the others, let him go."

Robin, obviously frustrated by circumstance pounds his fist against the railing. Then after a moment of composing himself replies.

"Fine, but I'm not letting him get away next time."

Robin and Raven make their way back to the other side of the building, where Kid Flash and Beast Boy are keeping an eye on a now sitting Dr. Light, and Starfire is holding up a still non-moving Cyborg. With assistance from Raven, Robin makes it back down to street level.

"Robin! Friend Cyborg is still not moving!" Starfire exclaims as she runs towards the pair when they touch down.

Robin nods in acknowledgement as he walks towards Dr. Light. Lifting him into the air, Robin uses his other hand to point at Cyborg.

"What did you do to him?"

"N...N...Nothing permanent, my suit just d..d..drained his battery." Dr. Light stammered from his less than prostegious position.

"Great, looks like I missed all the fun." Comes a female voice from down the street. Everyone looks to the source of the voice to see Jynx standing with a hand on her hip. "What's wrong with the Tin man?"

Suddenly Kid Flash is standing next to her. "Now, not the best time." He turns to face Robin, "Jynx and I can handle Light, you guys go ahead and get Cyborg home."

"Why should I..." Jynx starts to protest but quickly has her mouth covered by Kid Flash's hand.

"Thanks, that fight really took it out of us." Robin replies before dropping Dr. Light and turning to walk back towards the tower. Starfire and Beast Boy soon follow, Starfire carrying Cyborg. Raven waits a moment, her gaze lingering on the other sorceress, before following after the others.

Before long the bedraggled group has made it back to their home. Entering the common area the group splits, Beast Boy and Starfire take Cyborg to his room, and Robin and Raven remain in the common area. As Starfire disappears around the corner with Cyborg, Robin sits down at the computer terminal and starts typing.

"Let me guess, you're looking for Enforcer." Raven comments flatly as she takes her normal meditative position.

"We can't just let him go around killing people, even if they are criminals."

Raven chooses not to reply to this, instead attempting to focus on her meditation. A few moments pass then Cyborg's voice can be heard echoing down the hallway.

"Oh! you're going to get it... now?"

Raven opens an eye at this. "Cyborg's awake." Robin simply nods in response to Ravens observation, and continues typing.

"Oh man! How long was I out?" Cyborg's voice carries down the hallway once more.

Raven closes her eyes again, once more trying to slip into a meditative trance. This effort is to no avail however, as only a few moments later Beast Boy comes walking into the common area again.

"Cyborg wants to know what happened, and Star and I aren't really sure what you two did..."

Raven opens her eyes again and looks to Robin. Seeing that Robin had no intention of breaking off from his current task, she sighs and steps down to the ground. "I'll tell them."

"Thanks Raven." Robin says without turning.

Raven goes with Beast Boy to Cyborgs room and explains the events that transpired after he powered down.

Day bleeds into evening before she finishes, and Cyborg is done recharging. After they finish all four of them come back to the common area, where Robin is still sitting at the terminal typing.

"You've been at that for hours now dude." Beast Boy says, "You haven't even changed yet!"

"No time, gotta find Enforcer before he kills someone." Robin says matter of factly.

"Yeah, what's with that man? Way Raven tells it, we owe him one." Cyborg asks.

"Did she tell you that he was trying to kill him?" Robin turns to face the group as anger seeps into his tone.

"Yeah, she also said there was some kinda weird juju on him too." Cyborg wiggles his fingers as he says this.

"What?"

Raven pushes Cyborg's hands back down as she speaks, "What I said was that there was some sort of magic about him. I'm not sure what it is, it was subtle."

"She thinks it might be some kind of magic zombie brainwashing!" Beast Boy interjects.

"No. You thought that." Raven places her face in her hand as she sees things spiraling out of control.

"That is next to the point. It is time for Robin to rest so that he can have much wakefulness when next we find Enforcer." Starfire proclaims.

"I'm fine." Robin says, turning back to the terminal.

"No you are not, Robin fought harder than any of us, and it is time for rest." Starfire says as she starts to drag Robin out of his seat. Robin gets pulled to his feet, and immediately ends up on the floor grasping his leg.

"Ah! Cramp!" He exclaims as he curls up.

"Sure looks like you could use some rest to me." Cyborg says, crossing his arms. Starfire puts an arm under Robin's knees and the other under his back and lifts him off the ground.

"S.. Starfire?" Robin stammers.

"I will take you to bed." This being said, Starfire turns to make good on her words, and walks from the room.

Beast Boy and Cyborg watch them exit, but before any comment can be made, a light bulb in the ceiling explodes. They both turn to face Raven, who is looking at the broken bulb.

"I need to meditate..." Raven says simply, and also walks from the room.

"Looks like Robin isn't the only one that needs some rest." Cyborg comments.

"I'll say..." Beast Boy replies.

Raven enters her room and assumes her meditative pose overtop of her bed.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos... Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..." Raven begins her mantra, but is unable to find her center.

_'What is wrong with me, ever since we got back from Tokyo I can't seem to focus.'_ Raven thinks as she tries harder to clear her mind.

_'You already know what's wrong...'_ answers a thought from nowhere.

_'Who's there?'_ Raven asks herself, but no reply follows. Opening her eyes, Raven discovers that the sun has set while she was attempting to meditate.

"Maybe I'm just tired..." She says to herself. Raven takes off her cloak and belt and begins to get herself ready for sleep. A wave of her hand pulls down her covers, and she crawls into bed. It isn't long before the stress that the day has put on her forces her into a fitful sleep.

--

It was a hard battle, but they stood victorious. The Teen Titans stood outside the ruined factory, their clothes and skin stained with ink. The skies threatened to open up and pour at any moment, but they had won. Brushogun had been freed from his captor, and his curse. Raven watches as Robin helps Starfire sit up from underneath the large clot of ink.

"Starfire...are you ok?" he asks.

"I am now." she answers.

Lightning flashes, and the rain falls hard from the sky. Washing the ink away from person and street alike.

"I think I was wrong before," Robin begins.

"You do?"

"Maybe a Hero isn't all that I am. Maybe I could be... Maybe we could be..." Robin continues, but Starfire cuts him off.

"Robin?"

"Starfire?"

"Stop talking."

The two teenagers move closer to one another and...

--

Raven wakes up with a start. Looking around franticly she soon realises that she is infact in her own room. She grasps her head with a moan as pain settles in.

"Ugh, why did I dream about that?"

_'You know why.'_ a thought answers.

Ignoring the thought, Raven collects her clothing and dresses. Noting that it is only slightly past midnight, she exits her room, headed for the roof.

"Too warm in here, need air..." She mumbles to herself as she walks. Before long she finds her way to the roof access and opens the door, exiting onto the most athletic roof in the city. As she heads to the roofs edge however she stops short when a digitized voice addresses her.

"I was wondering how long I was going to have to wait before you came out here. At least it was before morning."

Turning, Raven sees Enforcer, sitting above the access door. Gone is the single strap that was holding the rifle earlier, but in its place was two straps, obviously attached to some sort of pack on his back.

"How did you get up here?" She asks him.

"Getting past the security system on the ground was easy. Now climbing the sheer glass without waking anyone, that was a challenge." Enforcer replies, a bit of amusement showing in the digitized voice. "To be honest it was quite tiring. I'm not in nearly as good of shape as Robin is."

"Alright, why are you here?" Raven asks, putting a fist against her waist.

"Well I was hoping to talk some sense into all of you before things get out of hand. You seem to be the most level headed, so I figured you'd be the best place to start." Enforcer says then hops down to the rooftop.

"I'm listening."

"Good. Like I said earlier, I don't want to fight any of you. In fact I have no problem helping you if you need it." Enforcer takes a few steps towards Raven as he speaks. "But I can't let you stop me either." Enforcer turns slightly and gestures towards the city lights. "Look, each of those lights is a person, or a family. Each of them deserves to be protected, and that's what we do. Protect them."

"That's what **WE** do, yes." Raven interjects.

"It's what I do too. Our methods may be different, but our goal is the same. To make the world safe for good, law-abiding citizens." Enforcer turns his head towards Raven, his features obscured by his mask. "I don't have any powers, or an exhaustive amount of training. All I have is a little extraordinary training, my tools, and my brains. For me it's kill or be killed, and I ain't doin' no one any good if I'm dead."

"If that's all, then what's with the magic?" Raven turns fully towards Enforcer.

"Magic? Oh... that's probably..." Enforcer stops himself short. "Um, not anything of my own doing, and believe me it gives me **NO** advantage." Enforcer looks away from Raven as he says the second part.

"I see." Raven said, not terribly convinced.

"Right, well I have crime to fight. But you'll pass my offer of friendship on to your teammates right?" Enforcer asks as he steps over to the edge of the roof.

"Sure." Raven deadpans.

"Good, see you around." Enforcer says, then jumps off the roof. Raven rushes to the edge just in time to see the chute open, and Enforcer go gliding off over the water towards the city.

"Great, like I didn't already have enough to think about..." Raven mutters as she sits down and prepares to meditate.

--

Meanwhile in Paris, France.

Inspector Tarconi was not having the best of mornings. He was roused from bed early to oversee the moving of prisoners. Normally this might prove a little interesting, as criminals tended to have the most interesting personalities. But alas, these felons weren't likely to be too talkative as they were all frozen. Tarconi stood in what was once the headquarters of the Brotherhood of evil, however several months ago a large group of young heros had brought the organization to it's knees, cryogenically freezing all of it's members and leaving them for the authorities, namely him. It had taken all this time just to allocate the equipment necessary to move them without damaging them, it would be even longer before they could hope to unfreeze any of them so they could serve sentence. He stood and watched as his men worked, wondering if he should send one of them for some breakfast. Tarconi was just about to do just that, when a cry rang out from the entrance, drawing the attention of everyone and halting their progress.

Metallic boots can be heard ringing against the floor, marching in unison. A large number of figures appear through the entryway, all of them wielding some form of exotic pistol, and all of them identical. From behind the line of figures a voice speaks.

"Some of the worlds finest Villains, and all of them enemies of the Teen Titans. Thank you for the equipment to move them gentlemen. It would have been a pain to have to thaw them all before leaving here." The figures part for their master, and the familiar form of Slade steps into the light. "However I'm afraid that your services to me are now at an end."

--End chapter 1--

Authors Notes: Well here's chapter one. Please review, I can't even tell if anyone's reading this if you don't review…


	3. Chapter 2: Law Enforcement

Standard Disclaimer: Most of these characters don't belong to me, some of them do. I make no money from this. May cause blurred vision if taken internally. Most were not effected enough to stop taking.

To One's Self True.

Chapter 2:

Law Enforcement.

Raven was roused from her attempts at meditation by the rising sun. It's harsh rays banishing the night and alighting on Raven's pale features as she hovered above the roof of Titans tower. Raven set her feet on the roof once more and stretched a bit before turning to walk for the access door. A slight shiver coursed through her as she walked, her body finally taking notice of the crisp fall air. As she opened the door her nose was assaulted with a bizarre odor.

"Starfire's making breakfast again..." Raven moaned to herself.

As she proceeded down the stairs, she heard a repetitive clicking noise.

_'And Robin's back at the computer searching for Enforcer...'_ She added internally.

Raven reaches the bottom of the stairs and sees things are just as she suspected. Starfire had several large pots on the stove, with some form of yellow glop boiling in them. And Robin was typing away furiously at the computer. With neither Beast Boy or Cyborg in the room.

"Good to see some things are predictable." Raven remarks from her position at the bottom of the stairs.

"Friend Raven, would you care to sample the Glortog? It is a traditional Tamaranian dish for the breaking of the fast."

"Um, No thanks, I'll just make some tea." Raven raises her hands defensively as she says this. At Starfire's nod, Raven then proceeds to dig a kettle out of the cabinet and fill it with water.

" 'mornin' all! I'm fully charged, and ready to kick some butt!" Cyborg says as he steps out into the common area.

"Good, you can help me track down Enforcer. If he's done anything, he's really covered his tracks well." Robin answers without turning.

"Maybe he just hasn't done anything." Raven says as she puts the kettle on to boil. "Besides, we're all on the same side."

"He's going to get someone killed doing things that way, if he hasn't already!" Robin spins around to face the others at this.

"He was here last night." Raven says as she gets herself a mug and tea bag.

"What?!" Robin shouts.

"No way man, he would have tripped the alarm, no way he made it in here." Cyborg says.

"He wasn't in here, he was on the roof." Raven walks over to the couch and sits down.

"But why was the Enforcer here?" Starfire asks from the stove.

"To talk. He wants to be friends with us." Raven says as the kettle whistles. She telekinetically brings the kettle to her and then pours some of the hot water into her mug.

"Friends?" Robin asks, shocked.

"To have more friends is a good thing, right Robin?" Starfire asks.

"Not when they're murderers." Robin states bluntly.

"He compared himself to you." Raven sets the kettle down and starts steeping her tea. "He says you're better then him, that for him it's kill or be killed."

"Then he shouldn't be doing it." Robin's eyes narrow as he says this.

"Maybe that's why he wants to be friends with us, with enough help he wouldn't have to kill people." Cyborg remarks.

All eyes rest on Robin for several moments, as no one continues speaking. Looking from person to person, Robin finally sighs. "Fine, I'll think about it." No sooner is this said, than the alarm starts sounding. Robin spins back around to face the computer again.

"Titans, trouble!" Robin says.

"I'll go wake BB." Cyborg says as he runs back down the hall.

Several minutes later find our young heroes arriving at a police barricade, just outside an office building.

"What's going on?" Robin asks a police officer as they walk up.

"Some wakkos took a bunch of hostages. We don't know what they want yet, but they have machineguns." The officer gestures to a bullet ridden police cruiser parked in front of the entrance.

"Raven, Beast Boy, find us a way in." Robin says, turning to the aforementioned titans.

The two of them nod. Raven vanishes thru a portal, and Beast Boy shifts into a common housefly and heads for the building. "How many of them are in there Cyborg?"

"Hard to tell, that building has some decent sound proofing, but it's not perfect." Cyborg taps on his arm a couple more times. "Maybe twenty?"

Robin stops to consider this a moment, bringing a hand up to his chin, but soon shots ring out from inside. The police hit the ground to avoid any stray fire.

"Wait a second, that wasn't machinegun fire..." Robin starts, but is soon cut off by his communicator.

"Front door's clear, but we have a problem." Raven's voice says over the communicator.

"Titans, go!"

The front doors of the office building open, and in rush the three heroes, Starfire hovering slightly off the ground. The scene that greets them is a bit jolting to them. Several men with machineguns lie scattered about the foyer, bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds. The oddest thing being that they are all facing away from the door. Shifting their gaze in the direction they were all facing, Robin and company see Raven standing past the elevators, at the end of a hallway, facing down it. Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire start making their way through the bodies towards their friend, their gazes shifting back and forth among the motionless forms.

"Raven, what hap..." Robin starts to ask, but Raven raises her hand, indicating that Robins question will have to wait. She then points down the hallway. Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg peek their heads around the corner to see what Raven is looking at, and immediately understand the problem. Further down the hall, Enforcer is standing, facing away from the group, he has one pistol in his left hand, pointed at the ground, slightly away from his body. Another pistol is in his right hand, but this one is pointed even further down the corridor. Looking past Enforcer, they see his target, another man with a machinegun, who's holding one of the hostages in front of him and pointing his machinegun at her head. The assembled titans can hear snippets of conversation coming down the hallway.

"I told you BACK OFF or she gets it!" The man says, shifting his grip on the teenager slightly.

"If you shoot her you'll be dead before she hits the ground." The digitized voice of Enforcer answers.

The criminal keeps backing up down the hall with his hostage, Enforcer taking a step forward every so often to keep the distance between them from becoming to great.

"Enforcer shot all the armed men but this one, this stand off has been going on for a few minutes now." Raven informs her teammates.

"Can you get her away from him?" Robin asks Raven.

"Not while he has that machinegun pointed at her."

Robin's eyes narrow, "Then I'll just have to get him to point it somewhere else." Robin steps around the corner and starts walking down the hall. As he gets closer to Enforcer, Robin sees that the pistol down at Enforcer's side is empty, its slide locked back in the open position. Robin steps past Enforcer, keeping his eyes on the hostage, and the gun pointed at her.

"H.. Hey! You stop right there!" Robin keeps walking forward. "I said STOP!" The gunman points his machinegun at Robin as he says this. Robin stops in his tracks and Raven sees her chance. Portaling directly next to the gunman, Raven grabs the hostage away from him as he struggles to react to the rapidly changing circumstances. Wrapping her cloak around the startled teenager, Raven sinks through a portal on the floor with her charge. The gunman reaches into his jacket as Robin starts to rush him, but a gunshot brings him up short. The Teen Titans watch awe struck as a spent shell casing hits the ground, followed by the body of the gunman, a hole through the exact center of his forehead. Beast Boy takes human form again just to the side of the corpse.

"Dude, you could have hit me!"

"He had a grenade, look." Enforcer replies.

Robin looks on as Beast Boy pulls the jacket back slightly to reveal that he in fact did have a grenade, and had been in the process of pulling the pin. Enforcer turns and starts walking back towards the elevators, putting away his now spent pistols as he does so.

Standing next to the elevators, Raven tries to comfort the teenage girl in her arms.

"Um, are you alright?" Raven asks. The girl nods, but doesn't let go of her. So there she stood, trying to figure out what to do with the shaking girl, when Enforcer walked up to the elevator and pushed the up button. Raven shakes her head, clearing it of the bizarre thoughts that she was just starting to form, and spoke to Enforcer. "Little help?"

"Bring her upstairs, the rest of the hostages are there waiting for me to tell them it's clear." He replies.

"You shouldn't have shot all these people!" Robin says as he walks up behind Enforcer.

"Can the lecture wait till we have the hostages outside?"

Robin scowls at Enforcer but stays quiet. The elevator opens and the entire group gets inside. The doors open at their destination a few moments later and they step out. Enforcer leads the group down to a conference room and knocks on the door three times before opening it. inside can be seen a dozen workers, two of which are pointing machineguns at the door, until they recognize Enforcer and lower their weapons.

"Mom!" The girl exclaims and detaches herself from Raven, attaching to one of the women instead.

Enforcer makes a point to nudge Robin and motion to where two more bodies were lying in the room. "Don't let the police forget those two."

The group make it outside to where Police and EMS are waiting. Then Robin spins on Enforcer.

"Alright, crisis over. Now why did you kill all those people?"

"Some of them might make it." Enforcer starts walking down the street, motioning for them to follow.

"You didn't answer my question." Robin says angrily as he and the other Titans follow.

"Same reason I shot at Dr. Light, They were bad men." Enforcer sighs. "Before you get all high and mighty on me let me tell you a story, you might have seen it in the news."

"Go ahead."

"A few years ago there was a real problem with organized crime in Boston. I happened to be passing through there at the time. Then one day, all the mobsters started getting gunned down, it was a media circus. This went on for a good week, all of the lowlifes in Boston getting found dead by the police. They blamed it on a local mob boss, saying that he was cleaning house, getting rid of those that weren't loyal to him. But then something happened. On the last day of his trial, it was looking like he was going to get off the hook. But then three armed men stormed the courthouse, and delivered a speech that changed my life." Enforcer stops and turns to face the others. "They called them 'The Saints', and they were the best thing to ever happen to that town. I seek to follow in their footsteps."

"They may have been good for the city, but they were wrong to kill." Robin says. "And so were you."

"The same thing is happening here. The jails can't keep the criminals inside. How many times has someone you put away gotten out and threatened the city again?"

"That's not the point! Killing them isn't the answer!" Robin grabs Enforcer by his coat.

Enforcer looks down at Robin a moment before speaking again. "Isn't it?"

Robin lets go of Enforcer's coat. "No it isn't."

Enforcer watches Robin for several moments before he speaks again. "You have a lot of self restraint. If our positions were reversed, I would have hit me by now."

"Violence isn't always the answer." Robin replies.

"No, but perhaps it can be this time." Enforcer says, rubbing the chin portion of his mask.

At this comment Robin falls into a defensive stance and steps back. Enforcer just shakes his head. "If I were going to attack you I would have done it already. What I have in mind is something a little different."

"What do you have in mind?" Robin asks, still not dropping his guard.

"We fight, just you and me. No weapons, only skill. If you win, I stop killing."

"What if you win?" Robin asks, skeptical.

"If I win, you accept what I do, and who I am. Basically, stop hounding me about it." Enforcer answers. He then extends a hand to Robin. "Agreed?"

"Why no weapons?"

"I don't feel like getting frozen, and I figure you don't want to be shot."

Robin nods and takes Enforcer's hand. "Agreed."

"We should go someplace a little more private, we don't want to draw a crowd." Enforcer says.

"We have a place." Robin smiles as he says this.

A few minutes later find the three flying Titans aiding their three flightless companions cross the thin strip of ocean that separates the island containing Titan Tower from the rest of the city.

"This view is much better in the daylight." Enforcer comments, as he hangs from Ravens grip.

"One of the reasons we built out here." Cyborg says from the talons of Beast Boy the Pterodactyl.

The remaining moments before the group touches down are spent in silence. This is not to last however, for as soon as they land, Beast Boy reverts to human form, and starts complaining.

"Dude Cyborg, I think you're gaining weight."

"No way! You just need to work out more."

Ignoring the argument, the others walk towards the training area.

"Thanks for the lift." Enforcer says to Raven as they walk.

"Don't make it a habit."

Silence reigns again as Robin and Enforcer go about removing their weapons, and taking positions opposite one another.

"Starfire, you tell us when to begin and stop the fight." Robin says. Starfire nods.

Enforcer bows slightly to Robin, who returns the gesture. Cyborg and Beast Boy catch up to the group as they do this.

Starfire raises her hand into the air and holds it there a moment. "Begin!" she says as she drops her hand.

Both Enforcer and Robin drop into a stance, and begin slowly circling each other, keeping their distance.

"Robin's totally gonna kick his butt!" Beast Boy exclaims from the sidelines.

"Don't be so sure, we only have Enforcers word that Robin's better than him." Cyborg remarks.

The two continue to circle each other until they reach their starting positions once more. Then Robin rushes in, striking at Enforcer with both hands, and following up with a kick to the side. Enforcer blocks the punches, but takes the kick to the ribs, skidding back across the rocky ground slightly. Robin flips backwards, putting distance between them once more. Enforcer rubs the spot where Robin's kick connected, then rushes Robin. Enforcer drops low as he tries to sweep kick Robins legs out from under him, only to find the boy wonder has jumped over his leg. Falling backwards onto his hands, Enforcer kicks upward with his other leg, catching Robin square in the jaw. Enforcer follows up with a circle kick meant for Robin's head, but finds his leg caught by Robin.

"Oh, shit!" Enforcer swears, just as Robin uses his grip on Enforcer's leg to throw him across the field. Enforcer lands on his back, and rolls backwards to his feet. This movement causes the hood of his mantle to fall backwards, revealing slightly longer than shoulder length brown hair, tied back into a simple ponytail. Robin rushes Enforcer once again, trying to maintain his advantage. Enforcer sidesteps Robins palm strike, and lashes out with two fingers, catching Robin's arm just below the elbow.

"Aaahh!" Robin cries out in pain as Enforcer steps away, once again opening the distance between them. Robin grasps his arm where Enforcer had touched him, the nerves around the spot feeling like they were on fire. Enforcer takes the brief break in the action to remove his mantle, pulling the leather loops out from around the pair of buttons, and tossing it off to one side.

"Did I forget to mention that I'm trained in the use of pressure points?" Enforcer asks, a small amount of amusement showing in his digitized voice. Robin lets go of his arm, and shakes it.

"Doesn't matter, you're going down." Robin proclaims, then rushes in once more. Robin's first punch clips Enforcer in the shoulder as he attempts to get out of the way, allowing the three follow up strikes to land more effectively. Enduring the onslaught, Enforcer realizes the only way to break the series of strikes is to counterattack. Taking two swings at Robin, Enforcer is surprised to find both of his arms caught. Seeing the opening Robin has left however, Enforcer brings his head down to meet Robins. The metal of Enforcers mask meets the flesh of Robins face with a brutal thud and crack. Robin lets go of Enforcers arms, and staggers backwards, holding his now broken nose.

"Robin." Starfire says as she starts to step forward, but she finds herself stopped by Ravens hand on her shoulder.

"Not yet. They need this." Raven looks between the two combatants. "They both do."

Starfire steps back next to her teammate and continues to watch the fight. Robin takes a moment to set his nose, then wipe away some of the blood coming from it.

"Looks like I got first blood. Do you give up?" Enforcer says, waiting for Robin to be ready.

"Never."

"Didn't think so." Enforcer takes the fight to Robin, striking at him with a pair of outstretched fingers. Robin dances outside of Enforcers reach, keeping himself from whatever effect Enforcer's strikes may have had. Robin soon launches his own series of strikes, forcing Enforcer to block the rapid punches and kicks on crossed arms. Robin's assault slowly works the fighters close to the edge of the island. Noticing their position, Enforcer sidesteps Robin, putting him closer to the waves. A quick snap kick places the now off balance Robin flat on his face at the edge of the water. Robin rolls over just in time to avoid Enforcer's boot as it strikes the sand where he just was. Robin rolls underneath Enforcer's legs and comes to his feet. Then he quickly plants a powerful kick into Enforcer's back, sending him flying into the water.

Raven's eyes go wide when she feels the spike of magic when Enforcer hits the water.

_'What the hell was that?'_ she thinks.

Enforcer rises from the water, clenching his chest. Robin waits for him on the shore, giving him the same respect that Enforcer had shown for him earlier. Enforcer buttons up his Trenchcoat and wrings out his blue hair as he walks back to shore.

_'Wait a minute, blue hair?'_ Raven squints to try and get a better look_. 'Magical hair dye? __No, wait...'_ "Does he look shorter to you?" Raven asks the others.

"Hey yeah, wasn't he taller than Robin?" Beast Boy replies.

The conversation dies however as the fight is rejoined. Enforcer kicking at Robin as he reaches the shore. The kick comes up short however, and Robin strikes back. A flurry of blows force Enforcer back inland, and soon knocks him from his feet. Robin runs up on the now prone form of Enforcer, and brings his boot down on Enforcer's chest in a powerful scissor kick. Enforcer screams as several of his ribs crack under the force of Robins blow. Lashing out quickly, Enforcer strikes the inside of Robin's thigh with two fingers, eliciting a yelp of pain from the Boy Wonder, and causing him to topple over. Enforcer manages to stand and begins walking away from Robin, grasping his broken ribs the entire way.

"Can't... win..." Enforcer mumbles as he hobbles away.

Raven holds her head, at the sudden torrent of emotion she receives from Enforcer. Her normally mild empathy kicking into overdrive in response to the waves of sorrow coming from Enforcer.

Robin, having lost all feeling in his leg, is first to notice the green glow as he struggles to stand. Seeing the nimbus of power coalescing around Enforcer, Robin doubles his efforts to stand.

"This body... This curse... Everything gone..." Enforcer continues as he turns to face Robin again. "It's all gone..."

"Raven you alright?" Cyborg asks.

"Dude, how's he doing that?" Beast Boy asks.

"Is it time to stop the fight now?" Starfire asks.

These questions are quickly forgotten, as Enforcer's power hits the critical point.

"**SHI SHI HOKODAN!!**"

--End Chapter 2--

Author's Notes: Oooo, a cliffhanger! Work on chapter 3 is almost done, and chapter 4 has nearly written it's self in the process. Hope to update again soon.


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